Cast Member: Patrick Tam

‘Beast Cops’ is a powerfully shot and highly entertaining movie that raises some important issues regarding today’s society, which really need to be addressed.

This is a surprisingly exciting and often blackly comic thriller that borrows from ‘Prison on Fire’ but does so with real skill.

The style and substance of ‘Comeuppance’ are in well-balanced equilibrium as neither overtakes the other, but there is still something indefinable that proves to be obvious by the time the credits roll.

Having emerged from the debacle that was ‘Kung-Fu Cyborg’, Jeff Lau returns to his beloved sub-genre of the nonsensical and it’s certainly an improvement on his previous effort.

There really is very little reason to recommend ‘Killers From Beijing’ as it is disappointing on just about every level of competent film-making.

Interest is created in ‘Lady Cop & Papa Crook’ by its style and verve, yet the story and characters are successful in doing the opposite.

Competently directed by the legendary Yuen Woo-Ping and utilising a decent budget, ‘Master Z’ is pleasingly straight-forward, action soaked entertainment.

If you’re not expecting a deep examination into Asia’s politics then ‘Purple Storm’ is an absorbing and emotionally charged action-thriller that does more than just pass the time.

A bit of ‘Heat’ mixed with Chan’s own ‘Invisible Target’, ‘Raging Fire’ hits hard in both the action and drama, the much-missed director delivering one of his finest.

With a clearly impressive budget and a star-studded cast, it is to be expected that the film is padded out and not always as engrossing as it should have been.

It has its faults and no-one could call it the greatest movie ever made. Importantly though, this is a fabulous example of how a combination of technology and innovation can still wow the jaded viewer.

At times frustrating and yet mostly entertaining, ‘The Myth’ may not be vintage Chan, but there are glimpses here of a performer who is still a valuable treasure for world cinema.